Just got the Sept issue of Turbo magazine, and it has a quick breakdown of 9 exhaust systems on the market for the Celica. I was surprised that they had the Veilside exhaust, since I seem to recall that it came out only a couple of months ago. Anyways, for those w/o a subscription, money, or the patience to go read a copy, here's the info:

Keep in mind that although the numbers may differ from individual to individual, the test were done together by Turbo, so the ranking should not be that different (except price). As you can see from the little tables, TRD is probably still the best overall performer. Veilside is pretty good, except that it fall short a bit on the peak horsepower (again, can't just look at peak power, and I didn't compare the entire dyno graphs) and it's physically daunting. GReddy has previously posted on nc.org about it having a high quality exhaust and from the data gathered, it's not quite true. Even tho it's pretty darn close to the highest peak powers and peak torques, the Evolution is by far the heaviest, which more than likely offsets whatever power advantage it may have. Blitz makes very little power above factory, probably even negligible; its saving grace are sound (from what ppl have said), price (lowest next to factory), and weight (second lightest). Tanabe consistently ranks well as does Rod Millen (probably b/c of its close ties to TRD). TRD and Rod Millen also makes the biggest jump in noise at 13 dB between idle and 3000 rpm; 5Zigen doesn't change in that range.

Anyways, this may all be old news to most of you, but it was cool seeing Turbo still keeping up with its project Celica. In fact, there is a little 3 page article updating ppl on the project as well as a few scattered articles mentioning the 7 sec Celica from turbonetics. Well, enjoy!

EDIT: Oops, sorry I forgot to mention that www.turbomagazine.com will have sound clips of all exhausts, at least according to the magazine. The sound clips are not yet there as of July 4th.

It's not just your imagination...Your day really does go by twice as fast while on EverythingCelica.com

i was going to go for the TRD as well, but opted for the hks. hks has proven to do very well in performance parts. i know that TRD is based on toyota studies and all, but i wonder if it will work well with turbo.

So I'm sitting here what all these numbers mean. I know how much power each exhaust puts out and I know how much each one costs. I know which one costs the most, and now I know thich one is the loudest. I think that the ranking system listed above is a fallacy though. TRD had the highest HP. Isn't HP and Torque related by some equation? Surprisingly the HP ranking list looks strangely similar to the Torque ranking list. So here's the deal. Why not re-analyze these numbers.

How about we figure out which exhaust performs the best using power-to-weight ratio (HP/lb) as a measure? Just because an exhaust puts out more horsepower doesn't mean its better if it is a heavy mother*****. Right? Then, what about value? Fine, we know HKS costs an arm an a leg and Devine Brown is a cheap choice for Hugh Grant. But how do you determine value? Well, to me, I think dollars per horsepower is a good measure. So here I go. I'm no statistician, but my numbers seem to make sense to me, and it kind of reorganizes your rankings...

So, there's the breakdown. Of course you wonder. Who in the world is going to pay to buy an HKS exhaust that gives you only mediocre bang for your buck? Well, I think there is an untangible price on the "look" of the exhaust that affects our willing to pay.

Interesting perspective, but there are a few problems with it. First of all, the prices listed are not realistic. I know I bought my TRD exhaust brand new shipped from e-toyotas.com for $488, not $650, and I image the other exhausts sell at different prices as well. Also, the weight comparison only really makes sense if you take into account the relative weight compared to the rest of the car.

If one VVT-I sticker weighs twice as much as another VVT-I sticker one can't say that it is twice as good (cuz we all know they give about 20hp). If you redo the calculation taking into acount the relative change in the cars curb weight and the relative change in the cars overall power, then it might be a little more fair.

In the end, however, these guys don't add a heck of a lot of power and its more about the sound and look than anything else.

So I'm sitting here what all these numbers mean. I know how much power each exhaust puts out and I know how much each one costs. I know which one costs the most, and now I know thich one is the loudest. I think that the ranking system listed above is a fallacy though. TRD had the highest HP. Isn't HP and Torque related by some equation? Surprisingly the HP ranking list looks strangely similar to the Torque ranking list. So here's the deal. Why not re-analyze these numbers.

How about we figure out which exhaust performs the best using power-to-weight ratio (HP/lb) as a measure? Just because an exhaust puts out more horsepower doesn't mean its better if it is a heavy mother*****. Right? Then, what about value? Fine, we know HKS costs an arm an a leg and Devine Brown is a cheap choice for Hugh Grant. But how do you determine value? Well, to me, I think dollars per horsepower is a good measure. So here I go. I'm no statistician, but my numbers seem to make sense to me, and it kind of reorganizes your rankings...

So, there's the breakdown. Of course you wonder. Who in the world is going to pay to buy an HKS exhaust that gives you only mediocre bang for your buck? Well, I think there is an untangible price on the "look" of the exhaust that affects our willing to pay.

wut do you guys think is the best sounding exhaust? Since exhaust isn't THAT much of a power gain, do you think it would be better to go with sound rather than performance? i've heard the exhausts and in my opinion the apexi is best. wut do you think?

I hear the Apexi gen 2 can match TRD in terms of torque and horsepower and beat them low to mid range. (can't find dynos though) So I'd go for that. Assuming of course you won't mind a relatively quiet exhaust.

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